Mzuzu chief resident magistrate Godfrey Balaka yesterday remanded to prison two Tanzanians found in possession of $1.1 million (about K1.9 billion) without supporting documentation.
Northern Region Police spokesperson Cicelia Mfune said the case has since been adjourned to July 15 2026.
She said the foreign currency is now in the custody of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) for further verification.
Said Mfune: “They have been charged with illegal exchange of foreign currency with a person who is not an authorised dealer contrary to Section 12(2)(c) as read together with Section 44 of the Foreign Exchange Rate Act 2025.
“Second count is money laundering contrary to section 42(1)(c) as read together with Section 42 of (3) of the Financial Crimes Act 2017.”
Earlier, Mfune said the suspects, Paschal Nyanda, aged 28 and Sanda Donald, aged 24, were arrested on July 1 2026 at Chiweta Roadblock around 14.30 hours during a special police operation.
She said police officers stopped and searched a Mazda Axela, registration NE 11400, which was being driven by the first suspect, reportedly travelling from Lilongwe to Tanzania.
“During the search, police discovered the foreign currency concealed in the vehicle, and the suspects failed to produce documents authorising its possession.
“Police have since seized both the money and the vehicle. The suspects are expected to appear before court upon completion of the necessary paperwork to answer charges of being found in possession of foreign currency without supporting documentation and money laundering,” she said.
In May 2026, the RBM admitted facing challenges to manage allocations of foreign exchange to the country’s essential sectors due to inadequate forex reserves.
A report this year further showed that Malawi has been losing an average of $626 million (about K1.096 trillion) annually, translating to $6.258 billion (about K10.95 trillion) of its total trade value in 10 years from 2013 to 2022 to illicit financial flows (IFFs).
The report by the Global Financial Integrity details that such gaps emanate from trade mis-invoicing, the deliberate under or over-statement of export and import values on invoices, widely recognised as a dominant channel for IFFs.
The report noted that IFFs directly crowd out public investment and often force governments to rely on onerous debt, with Malawi currently sitting on a K22.4 trillion debt.
